This month, Mumbai’s super-rich will be in Phuket for the wedding celebrations of Divya Dhadda and Abhinav Daga at the JW Marriott.

Since Phuket’s luxury resorts are attracting high profile Indian weddings, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is making special attempts to get more Indian weddings there. The grandest wedding to be held there was at the Banyan Tree Phuket, the most upmarket of Laguna Phuket’s resorts. Nagpur industrialist Manoj Jayaswal hosted the most “wow” wedding for his daughter Swatee’s marriage to Lalit Tayal. Over 700 guests flew in to Phuket to experience a fairy tale wedding fiesta with live performances by Roopkumar and Sonali Rathod, Sayali Bhagat, Shveta Salve among others.

While Indian industrialists host the glittery, super-grand affairs to present a ‘Desi Traditions’ meets ‘Thai Style Entertainment’, many Sindhi and NRI families host intimate dos, where the bride and groom exchange vows on the pristine white beaches in the presence of hundred to three hundred guests. According to Wedding Planner Divya Chadha, who runs the company AKA: A Klass Apart, hosting an intimate wedding at Thailand can be more economical than hosting a wedding at a five-star hotel in India. She says: “At most times of the year, Thailand is around 30% cheaper in terms of room rentals and banqueting rates. There, one gets much more value for money spent since they have an exotic range of flora which would cost double in India. There are excellent musicians, performers and entertainers too, to suit different budgets.”

Last month, Mumbai designer Kiran Gidwani married Mauritius businessman Anup Tolaram at the newly opened JW Marriott, Khao Lak Resort near Phuket. This was followed by a White Wedding at a Chapel at the Laguna in Phuket. Thanks to the Sindhi diaspora— Phukets resorts are now better equipped to host Indian weddings and a host of artists specialise in servicing the demands of Indian weddings. Says Jakarta based Samara Melwani who got married at the JW Marriott, Phuket last year. “Besides Marriott I checked three other properties in Phuket—the Sheraton, Le Meridien and Indigo Pearl. I liked all of them, but the Marriott had already hosted many Indian weddings—so I was confident their Wedding Planners could do a great job with planning my Wedding, which they ultimately did.”!

Nagpur’s Swatee Jayaswal wedding was the most expensive be held in Phuket

Samara Melwani’s wedding at the JW Marriott– a Foam Party and the Traditional Festivities

Kiran Gidwani’s wedding at Khao Lak Resort and the Chapel at the Laguna

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on Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 at 11:29 pm and is filed under Destination Weddings.
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